From 1898, it was commonly accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos; this explanation has since been rejected.[40]Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that it is derived from the pre-Celtic Old European*(p)lowonida, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London; from this, the settlement gained the Celtic form of its name, *Lowonidonjon;[42] this requires quite a serious amendment however. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *(h)lōndinion (as opposed to *londīnion), from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name.

Prehistory

Two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area. In 1999, the remains of a Bronze Age bridge were found on the foreshore north of Vauxhall Bridge.[43] This bridge either crossed the Thames, or went to a now lost island in the river. Dendrology dated the timbers to 1500 BC.[43] In 2010 the foundations of a large timber structure, dated to 4500 BC, were found on the Thames foreshore, south of Vauxhall Bridge.[44] The function of the mesolithic structure is not known. Both structures are on South Bank, at a natural crossing point where the River Effra flows into the River Thames.[44]

Roman London

Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans after the invasion of 43 AD.[45] This only lasted until around 61, when the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it, burning it to the ground.[46] The next, heavily planned, incarnation of Londinium prospered and superseded Colchester as the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height during the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of around 60,000.

Anglo-Saxon London (and Viking period)

With the collapse of Roman rule in the early 5th century, London ceased to be a capital and the walled city of Londinium was effectively abandoned, although Roman civilisation continued in the St Martin-in-the-Fields area until around 450.[47] From around 500, an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as Lundenwic developed in the same area, slightly to the west of the old Roman city.[48] By about 680, it had revived sufficiently to become a major port, although there is little evidence of large-scale production of goods. From the 820s the town declined because of repeated Viking invasions. There are three recorded Viking assaults on London; two of which were successful in 851 and 886 AD, although they were defeated during the attack of 994 AD.[49]

The Vikings established Danelaw over much of the eastern and northern part of England with its boundary roughly stretching from London to Chester. It was an area of political and geographical control imposed by the Viking incursions which was formally agreed to by the Danishwarlord, Guthrum and west-Saxonking, Alfred the Great in 886 AD. Danelaw lasted in many parts of England for centuries to come. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that London was "refounded" by Alfred the Great in 886. Archaeological research shows that this involved abandonment of Lundenwic and a revival of life and trade within the old Roman walls. London then grew slowly until about 950, after which activity increased dramatically.[50]

By the 11th century, London was beyond all comparison the largest town in England. Westminster Abbey, rebuilt in the Romanesque style by King Edward the Confessor, was one of the grandest churches in Europe. Winchester had previously been the capital of Anglo-Saxon England, but from this time on, London became the main forum for foreign traders and the base for defence in time of war. In the view of Frank Stenton: "It had the resources, and it was rapidly developing the dignity and the political self-consciousness appropriate to a national capital."[51][52]

During the 12th century, the institutions of central government, which had hitherto accompanied the royal English court as it moved around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed in one place. In most cases this was Westminster, although the royal treasury, having been moved from Winchester, came to rest in the Tower. While the City of Westminster developed into a true capital in governmental terms, its distinct neighbour, the City of London, remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre, and it flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. In 1100, its population was around 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.[57]

Disaster struck during the Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population.[58] London was the focus of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.[59]

Early modern

Map of London in 1593. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed.

During the Tudor period the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism, with much of London passing from church to private ownership.[60] The traffic in woollen cloths shipped undyed and undressed from London to the nearby shores of the Low Countries where it was considered indispensable.[61] But the tentacles of English maritime enterprise hardly extended beyond the seas of north-west Europe. The commercial route to Italy and the Mediterranean Sea normally lay through Antwerp and over the Alps; any ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to or from England were likely to be Italian or Ragusan. Upon the re-opening of the Netherlands to English shipping in January 1565 there at once ensued a strong outburst of commercial activity.[62] The Royal Exchange was founded.[63]Mercantilism grew and monopoly trading companies such as the East India Company were established, with trade expanding to the New World. London became the principal North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.[60]

In the 16th century William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London at a time of hostility to the development of the theatre. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still very compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, through the Gunpowder Plot on 5 November 1605.[64] London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century,[65] culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.[66]

In 1762, George III acquired Buckingham House and it was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century, London was dogged by crime and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force.[72] In total, more than 200 offences were punishable by death,[73] including petty theft.[74] Most children born in the city died before reaching their third birthday.[75] The coffeehouse became a popular place to debate ideas, with growing literacy and the development of the printing press making news widely available; and Fleet Street became the centre of the British press.

According to Samuel Johnson:

You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

Greater London's population declined steadily in the decades after the Second World War, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration, including the Canary Wharf development. This was borne out of London's ever-increasing role as a major international financial centre during the 1980s. The Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea.

The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, which left London as the only large metropolis in the world without a central administration. In 2000, London-wide government was restored, with the creation of the Greater London Authority. To celebrate the start of the 21st century, the Millennium Dome, London Eye and Millennium Bridge were constructed. On 6 July 2005 London was awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, making London the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times.[80] In February 2015, Greater London's population was estimated to be 8.6 million, the highest level since 1939.[81]

Government

London

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<tr><td>200px</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom: #aaa 1px solid">This article is part of a series on thepolitics and government ofLondon</th></tr><tr><td style="padding:0 0.1em 0.4em;text-align:left;border-bottom:1px #aaa solid;">

Local government

The administration of London is formed of two tiers—a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.[82] The GLA consists of two elected components; the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, which scrutinises the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject the mayor's budget proposals each year.
The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Southwark; the mayor is Boris Johnson. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which was most recently revised in 2011.[83] The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.[84] They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management, are provided through joint arrangements. In 2009–2010 the combined revenue expenditure by London councils and the GLA amounted to just over £22 billion (£14.7 billion for the boroughs and £7.4 billion for the GLA).[85]

Geography

Scope

Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London.[note 5] The small, ancient City of London at its core once contained the whole settlement, but as the urban area grew the City Corporation resisted attempts to amalgamate it with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number ways for different purposes.[98] Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses.[99][100]

The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are omitted and some places just outside are included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places.[101]

Topography

Greater London encompasses a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., an area which had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The extended area known as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration, comprises a total area of Script error: No such module "convert". has a population of 13,709,000 and a population density of Script error: No such module "convert"..[112] Modern London stands on the Thames, its primary geographical feature, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.[113]

In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the Thames Barrier across the Thames at Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2070, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.[116]

Climate

Average summertime day temperatures range between 22°C and 26°C. Although uncommon, temperatures as high as 38°C have been recorded

London has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), similar to all of southern Britain. Despite its reputation as being a rainy city, London receives less precipitation (Script error: No such module "convert". in a year), than Rome, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Naples and even Sydney in Australia.[117][118][119][120][121][122] Temperature extremes for all sites in the London area range from Script error: No such module "convert". at Kew during August 2003 [123] down to Script error: No such module "convert". at Northolt during January 1962.[124]

Summers are generally warm and sometimes hot, London's average July high is Script error: No such module "convert".. On average London will see 31 days above Script error: No such module "convert". each year, and 4.2 days above Script error: No such module "convert". every year. During the 2003 European heat wave there were 14 consecutive days above Script error: No such module "convert". and 2 consecutive days where temperatures reached Script error: No such module "convert"., leading to hundreds of heat related deaths.[125] Winters are generally cool and damp with little temperature variation. Snowfall does occur from time to time, and can cause travel disruption when this happens. Spring and autumn are mixed seasons and can be pleasant. As a large city, London has a considerable urban heat island effect,[126] making the centre of London at times Script error: No such module "convert". warmer than the suburbs and outskirts. The effect of this can be seen below when comparing London Heathrow which is located 15 miles west of London with the London Weather Centre which is located in the centre of London.[127]

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Districts

London's vast urban area is often described using a set of district names, such as Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Wembley and Whitechapel. These are either informal designations, reflect the names of villages that have been absorbed by sprawl, or are superseded administrative units such as parishes or former boroughs.

Such names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without official boundaries. Since 1965 Greater London has been divided into 32 London boroughs in addition to the ancient City of London.[132][133] The City of London is the main financial district,[134] and Canary Wharf has recently developed into a new financial and commercial hub in the Docklands to the east.

Natural history

The London Natural History Society suggest that London is "one of the World's Greenest Cities" with more than 40 percent green space or open water. They indicate that 2000 species of flowering plant have been found growing there and that the tidal Thames supports 120 species of fish.[144] They also state that over 60 species of bird nest in central London and that their members have recorded 47 species of butterfly, 1173 moths and more than 270 kinds of spider around London. London's wetland areas support nationally important populations of many water birds. London has 38 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), two National Nature Reserves and 76 Local Nature Reserves.[145]

Among other inhabitants of London are 10,000 foxes, so that there are now 16 foxes for every square mile (2.6 square kilometres) of London. These urban foxes are noticeably bolder than their country cousins, sharing the pavement (sidewalk) with pedestrians and raising cubs in people's backyards. Foxes have even sneaked into the Houses of Parliament, where one was found asleep on a filing cabinet. Another broke into the grounds of Buckingham Palace, reportedly killing some of Queen Elizabeth II's prized pink flamingos. Generally, however, foxes and city folk appear to get along. A survey in 2001 by the London-based Mammal Society found that 80 percent of Londoners liked having them around.[147]

Other mammals found in Greater London are hedgehogs, rats, mice, rabbit, shrew, vole, and squirrels,[148] In wilder areas of Outer London, such as Epping Forest, a wide variety of mammals are found including hare, badger, field, bank and water vole, wood mouse, yellow-necked mouse, mole, shrew, and weasel, in addition to fox, squirrel and hedgehog. A dead otter was found at The Highway, in Wapping, about a mile from the Tower Bridge, which would suggest that they have begun to move back after being absence a hundred years from the city.[149] Ten of England's eighteen species of bats have been recorded in Epping Forest: soprano, nathusius and common pipistrelles, noctule, serotine, barbastelle, daubenton's, brown Long-eared, natterer's and leisler's.[150]

Among the strange sights seen in London have been a whale in the Thames,[151] while The BBC Two programme "Natural World: Unnatural History of London", shows pigeons using the London Underground to get around the city, a seal that takes fish from fishmongers outside Billingsgate Fish Market, and foxes that will "sit" if given sausages.[152]

Herds of red and fallow deer also roam freely within much of Richmond and Bushy Park. A cull takes place each November and February to ensure numbers can be sustained.[153] Epping Forest is also known for its fallow deer, which can frequently be seen in herds to the north of the Forest. A rare population of melanistic, black fallow deer is also maintained at the Deer Sanctuary near Theydon Bois. Muntjac deer, which escaped from deer parks at the turn of the twentieth century, are also found in the forest. While Londoners are accustomed to wildlife such as birds and foxes sharing the city, more recently urban deer have becoming a regular feature, and whole herds of fallow and white tailed deer come into residential areas at night to take advantage of the London's green spaces.[154] There are in London also many muntjak deer, but because they are shy it is less common to see them.[155]

With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was for some time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the most populous city in the world. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939 immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War, but had declined to 7,192,091 at the 2001 Census. However, the population then grew by just over a million between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, to reach 8,173,941 in the latter enumeration.[157]

The region covers an area of Script error: No such module "convert".. The population density is Script error: No such module "convert".,[161] more than ten times that of any other British region.[162] In terms of population, London is the 19th largest city and the 18th largest metropolitan region in the world. As of 2014, London has the largest number of billionaires (British Pound Sterling) in the world, with 72 residing in the city.[163] London ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow.[164]

20.9 per cent of Londoners are of Asian and mixed-Asian descent. 19.7 per cent are of full Asian descent, with those of mixed-Asian heritage comprising 1.2 of the population. Indians account for 6.6 per cent of the population, followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis at 2.7 per cent each. Chinese peoples account for 1.5 per cent of the population, with Arabs comprising 1.3 per cent. A further 4.9 per cent are classified as "Other Asian".

15.6 per cent of London's population are of Black and mixed-Black descent. 13.3 per cent are of full Black descent, with those of mixed-Black heritage comprising 2.3 per cent. Black Africans account for 7.0 per cent of London's population, with 4.2 per cent as Black Caribbean and 2.1 per cent as "Other Black". 5.0 per cent are of mixed race.

Across London, Black and Asian children outnumber White British children by about six to four in state schools.[166] Altogether at the 2011 census, of London's 1,624,768 population aged 0 to 15, 46.4 per cent were White, 19.8 per cent were Asian, 19 per cent were Black, 10.8 per cent were Mixed and 4 per cent represented another ethnic group.[167] In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken in London and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000.[168] Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, in 2010[update], London's foreign-born population was 2,650,000 (33 per cent), up from 1,630,000 in 1997.

The 2011 census showed that 36.7 per cent of Greater London's population were born outside the UK.[169] The table to the right shows the 30 most common countries of birth of London residents in 2011, the date of the last published UK Census.[156] A portion of the German-born population are likely to be British nationals born to parents serving in the British Armed Forces in Germany.[170] Estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics indicate that the five largest foreign-born groups living in London in the period July 2009 to June 2010 were those born in India, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Bangladesh and Nigeria.[171]

Accent

There are many accents that are traditionally thought of as London accents. The most well known of the London accents long ago acquired the Cockney label, which is heard both in London itself, and across the wider South East England region more generally.[187] The accent of a 21st-century 'Londoner' varies widely; what is becoming more and more common amongst the under-30s however is some fusion of Cockney with a whole array of 'ethnic' accents, in particular Caribbean, which form an accent labelled Multicultural London English (MLE).[188] The other widely heard and spoken accent is RP (Received Pronunciation) in various forms, which can often be heard in the media and many of other traditional professions and beyond, although this accent is not limited to London and South East England, and can also be heard selectively throughout the whole UK amongst certain social groupings.

Economy

London generates about 20 per cent of the UK's GDP[189] (or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the London metropolitan area—the largest in Europe—generates about 30 per cent of the UK's GDP (or an estimated $669 billion in 2005).[190] London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.[191][192]

London's largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in financial services in London until mid-2007. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Over 85 percent (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Because of its prominent global role, London's economy had been affected by the Late-2000s financial crisis. However, by 2010 the City has recovered; put in place new regulatory powers, proceeded to regain lost ground and re-established London's economic parity with New York.[193] The City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyd's of London insurance market.

Over half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies have their headquarters in central London. Over 70 per cent of the FTSE 100 are within London's metropolitan area, and 75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London.[194]

Along with professional services, media companies are concentrated in London and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.[195] The BBC is a significant employer, while other broadcasters also have headquarters around the City. Many national newspapers are edited in London. London is a major retail centre and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion.[196] The Port of London is the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 45 million tonnes of cargo each year.[197]

London has five major business districts: the City, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington and Lambeth & Southwark. One way to get an idea of their relative importance is to look at relative amounts of office space: Greater London had 27 million m2 of office space in 2001, and the City contains the most space, with 8 million m2 of office space. London has some of the highest real estate prices in the world.[198][199]

A growing number of technology companies are based in London notably in East London Tech City, also known as Silicon Roundabout. In April 2014, the city was among the first to receive a geoTLD.[200]

In February 2014 London was ranked as the European City of the Future [201] in the 2014/15 list by FDi Magazine.[202]

London has the highest property prices of any European city according to the Office for National Statistics and the European Office of Statistics.[203] On average the price per square metre in central London is €24,252 (April 2014). This is higher than the property prices in other G8 European capital cities; Berlin €3,306, Rome €6,188 and Paris €11,229.[204]

Tourism

London is a popular centre for tourism, one of its prime industries, employing the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in 2003,[207] while annual expenditure by tourists is around £15 billion.[208] London attracts over 14 million international visitors per year, making it Europe's most visited city.[209] London attracts 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year.[210] In 2010 the ten most-visited attractions in London were:[211]

Housing crisis

Thousands of homeless families find themselves stuck in emergency accommodation for at least two years.[212]
A growth in the number of UK households has led to the homeless charity Shelter stating: "This growth is a result of people living longer, more people living alone or in smaller households, and net migration."[213]

Transport

Transport is one of the four main areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London,[214] however the mayor's financial control does not extend to the longer distance rail network that enters London. In 2007 he assumed responsibility for some local lines, which now form the London Overground network, adding to the existing responsibility for the London Underground, trams and buses. The public transport network is administered by Transport for London (TfL) and is one of the most extensive in the world.

The lines that formed the London Underground, as well as trams and buses, became part of an integrated transport system in 1933 when the London Passenger Transport Board or London Transport was created. Transport for London is now the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, and is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the Mayor of London.[215]

Over three million journeys are made every day on the Underground network, over 1 billion each year.[226] An investment programme is attempting to reduce congestion and improve reliability, including £6.5 billion (€7.7 billion) spent before the 2012 Summer Olympics.[227] The Docklands Light Railway, which opened in 1987, is a second, more local metro system using smaller and lighter tram-type vehicles which serve Docklands and Greenwich.

With the need for more rail capacity in London, Crossrail is due to open in 2018. It will be a new railway line running east to west through London and into the Home Counties with a branch to Heathrow Airport.[231] It is Europe's biggest construction project, with a £15 billion projected cost.[232][233]

Buses and trams

London's bus network is one of the largest in the world, running 24 hours a day, with about 8,500 buses, more than 700 bus routes and around 19,500 bus stops.[238] In 2013, the network had more than 2 billion commuter trips per annum, more than the Underground.[238] Around £850 million is taken in revenue each year. London has the largest wheelchair accessible network in the world[239] and, from the 3rd quarter of 2007, became more accessible to hearing and visually impaired passengers as audio-visual announcements were introduced. The distinctive red double-decker buses are an internationally recognised trademark of London transport along with black cabs and the Tube.[240][241]

London has a modern tram network, known as Tramlink, centred on Croydon in South London. The network has 39 stops and four routes, and carried 28 million people in 2013.[242] Since June 2008 Transport for London has completely owned Tramlink, and it plans to spend £54m by 2015 on maintenance, renewals, upgrades and capacity enhancements.[243]

Port and river boats

From being the largest port in the world, the Port of London is now only the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 45 million tonnes of cargo each year.[197] Most of this actually passes through the Port of Tilbury, outside the boundary of Greater London.

Roads

Although the majority of journeys involving central London are made by public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The inner ring road (around the city centre), the North and South Circular roads (in the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the M25, outside the built-up area) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into inner London. A plan for a comprehensive network of motorways throughout the city (the Ringways Plan) was prepared in the 1960s but was mostly cancelled in the early 1970s. The M25 is the longest ring-road motorway in the world at Script error: No such module "convert". long.[246][247] The A1 and M1 connect London to Leeds, and Newcastle and Edinburgh.

London is notorious for its traffic congestion, with the M25 motorway the busiest stretch in the country. The average speed of a car in the rush hour is Script error: No such module "convert"..[248]

In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay £10 per day to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of central London.[249][250] Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a greatly reduced season pass.[251] London government initially expected the Congestion Charge Zone to increase daily peak period Underground and bus users by 20,000 people, reduce road traffic by 10 to 15 per cent, increase traffic speeds by 10 to 15 per cent, and reduce queues by 20 to 30 per cent.[252] Over the course of several years, the average number of cars entering the centre of London on a weekday was reduced from 195,000 to 125,000 cars – a 35-per-cent reduction of vehicles driven per day.[253]

London is a major centre of higher education teaching and research and its 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe.[27] In 2008/09 it had a higher education student population of around 412,000 (about 17 per cent of the UK total), of whom around 287,000 were registered for undergraduate degrees and 118,000 were studying at postgraduate level.[254] In 2008/09 there were around 97,150 international students in London, about 25 per cent of all international students in the UK.[254]

Islington's Script error: No such module "convert". long Upper Street, extending northwards from Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the United Kingdom.[267] Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly Script error: No such module "convert". long, making it the longest shopping street in the United Kingdom. Oxford Street is home to vast numbers of retailers and department stores, including the world-famous Selfridgesflagship store.[268]Knightsbridge, home to the equally renowned Harrodsdepartment store, lies to the south-west.

London has been the setting for many works of literature. The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly Hampstead and (since the early 20th century) Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire, Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early Victorian London, and Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century.[271]

Museums and art galleries

London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. In 1824 the National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square.

Close to Richmond Park is Kew Gardens which has the world's largest collection of living plants. In 2003, the gardens were put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.[288] There are also numerous parks administered by London's borough Councils, including Victoria Park in the East End and Battersea Park in the centre. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the Script error: No such module "convert".Hampstead Heath of North London,[289] and Epping Forest, which covers 2,476 hectares (6,118.32 acres)[290] in the east. Both are controlled by the City of London Corporation.[291][292] Hampstead Heath incorporates Kenwood House, the former stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical musical concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks.[293] Epping Forest is a popular venue for various outdoor activities, including mountain biking, walking, horse riding, golf, angling, and orienteering.[294]

Notes

^Rankings of cities by metropolitan area GDP can vary as a result of differences in the definition of the boundaries and population sizes of the areas compared, exchange rate fluctuations and the method used to calculate output. London and Paris are of broadly similar size in terms of total economic output which can result in third party sources varying as to which is defined as having the fifth- and sixth-largest city GDP in the world. A report by the McKinsey Global Institute published in 2012 estimated that London had a city GDP of US$751.8 billion in 2010, compared to US$764.2 billion for Paris, making them respectively the sixth- and fifth-largest in the world. A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers published in November 2009 estimated that London had a city GDP measured in purchasing power parity of US$565 billion in 2008, compared to US$564 billion for Paris, making them respectively the fifth- and sixth-largest in the world. The McKinsey Global Institute study used a metropolitan area with a population of 14.9 million for London compared to 11.8 million for Paris, whilst the PricewaterhouseCoopers study used a metropolitan area with a population of 8.59 million for London compared to 9.92 million for Paris.

^Greater London is not a city in the sense that the word applies in the United Kingdom, that of having city status granted by the Crown.

^According to the Collins English Dictionary definition of 'the seat of government',[108] London is not the capital of England, as England does not have its own government. According to the Oxford English Reference Dictionary definition of 'the most important town'[109] and many other authorities.[110]

^Ramsay, George Daniel (1986). The Queen's Merchants and the Revolt of the Netherlands: The End of the Antwerp Mart. Volume 2, pp. 1 and 62–63. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-1849-7

^The life and times of Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange: including notices of many of his contemporaries. With illustrations, Volume 2, pages 80–81, John William Burgon, E. Wilson, 1839.

^Clarey, Christopher (7 May 2008). "Traditional Final: It's Nadal and Federer". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2008. Federer said[:] 'I love playing with him, especially here at Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament we have.'

^Will Kaufman & Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson, ed. (2005). "Tennis". Britain and the Americas. 1 : Culture, Politics, and History. ABC-CLIO. p. 958. ISBN1-85109-431-8. this first tennis championship, which later evolved into the Wimbledon Tournament ... continues as the world's most prestigious event.